Darien Artist to Exhibit at Fairfield University Museum

Danbury artist Jan Dilenschneider will have an exhibit titled ”Dualities” at The Bellarmine Museum of Art at Fairfield University.

Her work regularly exhibits in Paris galleries.

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“The show is titled ‘DUALITIES’ because all of the work showing is in pairs or diptychs,” Mrs. Dilenschneider said. “The landscape painting includes many trees and greenery, but I also have a set of four abstracts and a triptych of three abstracts.”

She said she often paints a painting of the same subject three, four or five times, changing the design, the technique, the perspective and especially the color combinations until it becomes so much more developed.

She paints “pairs,” in which her objective is to “keep the canvas fresh and spontaneous, so it always looks as if it were just painted. I take two canvases and try something on one, and if it works and I like it, I will try it on the other canvas. I go back and forth like this. They don’t need to be hung together, but they share the same mood and feeling.”

Mrs. Dilenschneider said she is greatly influenced by living on Long Island Sound, where many subjects lie within a mile of her home—beautiful old trees, crystal blue water, elegant grasses, birds, and great storms.

Her paintings of the changing landscape around her Darien home were wonderfully received by art buyers at her previous shows in Paris, and for the third year, she has been invited to exhibit her artwork at the prestigious Galerie Pierre-Alain Challier. The show opens the week of July 7th and runs for three weeks.

The exhibit embraces the theme of Freedom of Expression, she says, and “Pays tribute to the remarkable men and women who demonstrated the importance of freedom of speech -- a quality dear to the French and American people and indeed to all civilized people in the world – men and women, who through their inspiration and courage reminded us of its importance in an era when fundamental freedoms are tested.”

Our world has entered a perilous age when censorship and repression have become institutionalized. Countless artists and writers are denied freedom of expression by oppressive governments and terrorist organizations.

Mrs. Dilenschneider has also endowed fellowships for art scholars from repressive countries through the Institute of International Education, which administers the Fulbright scholarship program for the U.S. Department of State.

“I am fortunate to help the cause of freedom of expression for artists worldwide through The Janet Hennessey Dilenschneider Scholar Rescue Program in the Arts,” she said. “This year, we helped an artist fromSyria, along with her husband and two sons.”

Mrs. Dilenschneider was cited as “Best in Show” at the 20th annual School of Art Student Exhibition, a juried show sponsored by the Silvermine Guild Art Center in New Canaan. In addition to her work with the scholar rescue program, she has provided financial assistance for a new studio for the Fine Arts program at The Ohio State University.

The Bellarmine Museum of Art at 1073 N. Benson Road, Fairfield,
is housed in the University’s signature building on campus, Bellarmine Hall. The museum has a rich and varied collection of paintings, sculpture, decorative art objects and works on paper, including ten paintings from the Italian Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Hours are Monday-Friday, 11 am to 5 pm, and select Saturdays while the university is in session. Admission is free and open to the public.